


Four Seasons, Three Loves

by through-the-stars-to-the-pavement (delicate_mageflower)



Series: Sun, Stars, Earth [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Break Up, But I Promise There's Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Sokka/Suki, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Getting Together, I am too soft, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, New Relationship, Other, Panic Attacks, Post-Hundred Year War - Freeform, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Throuple, Turtleducks, idiots to lovers, past Mai/zuko, they have one braincell and it's Suki's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:33:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25862128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delicate_mageflower/pseuds/through-the-stars-to-the-pavement
Summary: Suki smiles at him as she moves to stand, her eyes wide and her expression calm and cool.“Zuko,” Suki says gently. “Sokka has two hands.”Zuko stares up at her, scrambling for words to respond as his mind races.“And so do I,” she continues. “And so do you.”
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Suki/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Suki/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Sun, Stars, Earth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967482
Comments: 40
Kudos: 702





	Four Seasons, Three Loves

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't tag it because it's only vaguely referenced in actions here, but Zuko is totally autistic and Sokka is totally ADHD and you can't change my mind.

Mai sits down across the table from Zuko, a pot of tea between them. She looks nervous in a way he isn’t used to seeing from her, and it has him tapping his fingertips along the shared palm, in both of his hands.

“Zuko,” Mai starts once the tea has been poured.

“You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”

He feels it coming and while he doesn’t quite understand where it could be coming from, after her having risked _everything_ for him at Boiling Rock and later making him promise never to break up with her again, but it also does make sense in a strange way. It is surely the only explanation for her behavior, at least.

“Yes,” she replies, and she sounds genuinely sad. “Zuko, I… I love you. I really, from the bottom of my heart, love you. But I’m not _in love_ with you, and I can’t try to be anymore. Because I thought that’s who I’m supposed to be, but that’s not who I _am._ If there was any man out there who I could love like that, I’m sure it would be you. But there isn’t. I can’t. Because…I’m gay, Zuko. I can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved by a partner because I can’t feel that way about a man. And it isn’t fair to either of us for me to keep trying to pretend otherwise.”

“Does your family know?” Zuko finds himself vaguely amazed by how surprised he _isn’t._ He believes her, too, that she loves him, and he does love her in turn, but he realizes he isn’t sure he’s _in love_ with her either. Maybe he was once, when they were younger, but he isn’t now, and they’ve actually just been going through the motions for the past few years, and it was comfortable but it’s not anymore and that’s okay. This is for the best.

“No,” Mai sighs. “And I’m not sure how to tell them. I’m not sure I _can._ They won’t understand and I doubt they’ll accept it. But I’m going to have to soon, because… I needed to tell you first, it would have been wrong not to. But I _am_ in love, Zuko. And I _think_ she feels the same about me. So if that works out, they’ll find out eventually. But I haven’t told anyone else. I’m telling you the truth because I trust you. You’re my best friend, and I _truly_ hope this doesn’t change that. But I’m not sure who else I can trust enough yet, aside from you and…”

“Ty Lee?” he guesses, and Mai’s face lights up at the sound of her name.

“I always kind of suspected,” he admits to her silent confirmation, and to himself.

“And you…you’re okay?”

“Of course I am. I want you to be happy, Mai. And I love you, too, I love you so much but…”

 _“Everyone_ can see the way you look at Sokka, Zuko,” Mai laughs. She only laughs if she’s with Zuko or Ty Lee. “Honestly, it’s painful. Can you two just fuck already?”

“Mai,” Zuko sighs, mortified he’s been so transparent. He’d like to believe Mai knows only because she knows him so well, but the way she stressed the word _everyone_ isn’t hopeful. “Sokka’s with Suki. They’re really happy together. I couldn’t—”

“Yeah, the heart eyes you throw at _her_ aren’t subtle, either,” Mai teases casually, and Zuko can feel the deep shades of pink his face is turning. “A fucking _trillion_ gold pieces says the feeling’s mutual, though, with both of them. I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Fuck, Mai—”

“Ask your metalbender friend, doesn’t she know everything like that? The shit people try to hide? I bet she’ll tell you. Mark my words, Zuko. You’ll find love, too, and it’s closer than you think.”

“Umm, thank you. I guess.”

“Ugh, that was so fucking sappy. Ew.” Mai is laughing again, making fun of herself. It is a genuinely lovely moment between them.

She stands up and Zuko rises to meet her. She wraps him in a tight hug and kisses his cheek, careful to get the right side and trying not to startle him. “Thank you for understanding. And for being the best boyfriend a baby lesbian in denial could ever ask for. You deserve good things, Zuko. Really. They’re out there waiting for you. Go find them.”

He lets her go and feels an odd combination of relief and crushing anxiety wash over him. He and Mai will work better as friends, he knows that and he thinks he has for some time. But if Mai is correct, then he needs to have a potentially very awkward discussion with his two other best friends, and if she’s wrong then he can only hope and pray they stay that way.

***

“Hey, babe,” Sokka leans into Suki after she’s set down her weapons and cleaned her face and peeled off all the layers of her Kyoshi uniform and finally, _finally_ crawled into bed. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful,” she smiles. “For the most part, anyway. No one tried to assassinate the Fire Lord, so that’s always a good day. But I found out—and you do not tell _anyone_ you know this, okay—Mai and Zuko broke up. And that Mai may or may not now be with Ty Lee.”

“You know,” Sokka chuckles, “I didn’t see that coming, but I _totally_ saw that coming.”

“That’s been the general consensus amongst the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors, too.”

“Have you seen Zuko? How’s he holding up?”

“I haven’t, but Ty Lee says the split was one hundred percent amicable. She seems certain Zuko’s in love with someone else already, anyway, so.”

“Oh, uh, yeah?” Sokka’s throat feels dry all of a sudden. “Huh. Mm. Well, I hope that, umm…”

“You hope it’s you?”

 _“What?_ Uh, Suki, I…”

“It’s okay, Sokka. I know. I can read you like a book, sweetheart, I’ve always known. You’ve been holding a torch for him for years now. I kind of assumed you were just waiting until he was single to tell me.”

“And you knew he was going to be single eventually, too, did you?”

“Ty Lee or no Ty Lee, how did anyone _not_ pick up on how gay Mai is?”

“Okay, yeah, that’s fair.” Sokka props himself up onto his elbows and looks down at Suki, the confusion and guilt he’s felt and subsequently tried to bury about loving both her and Zuko as intensely as he does and has for so long reaching up into his chest. “But you’re, umm, you’re not mad? Because you know, Suki, you _have to know_ I love you, how fucking much I love _you,_ but I have been so fucking lost about this and it’s never made any sense to me that I could—”

“It makes sense to me, Sokka,” she interrupts. “Like I said, I’ve always known. And I never thought you were giving me any less of your heart just because I have to share it with him. You are the kindest, most dedicated, most protective, most _loving_ person I know. There is more than enough of your heart to go around. And for what it’s worth, it is _definitely_ you. The way he looks at you, it’s honestly precious you haven’t picked up on it. And you need to talk to him about it. You’ve both been sitting on this long enough. The only thing I’m _not_ sure about, although I do have a hunch, is if it’s me, too. And if it isn’t, we’ll work something out.”

“But if it is?”

“Then this will be a _very_ quick and easy conversation.”

***

It is an uncharacteristically cold day in the Fire Nation, so Sokka can only imagine what it must feel like back home. It doesn’t snow here but this winter has been rougher than normal, and even though he has never gotten used to the brutal Fire Nation summers, it is currently a terrible combination of windy and rainy that Sokka hadn’t previously realized how well he had adjusted to _not_ having to deal with.

(He’s definitely due for a visit home in that case, but he can worry about that later. Fuck, what he’s about to do might even end up being cause alone for a trip home soon.)

Zuko can, on occasion, be hilariously predictable. This is one of those times.

He is sitting at the edge of the turtleduck pond, submerging his hands to heat the water for them. And both Sokka and Suki instantly feel their hearts beat a little faster at the sight, the sweetness of the gesture.

“Oh, man,” Sokka whispers anxiously.

“Yeah,” she agrees instinctively. “Here goes.”

They approach Zuko from the right to ensure he sees and hears them coming, careful not to alarm him. They are both nervous enough (Sokka far more than Suki, but still) about speaking with him, the last thing they need is to start it off by carelessly triggering him on accident (not that this is _ever_ something they don’t actively try to avoid, regardless of circumstance, and sometimes it just happens anyway, but now more than usual they need him completely at ease).

“Zuko,” Sokka calls to him with a smile. “How’s it going?”

“It’s, umm, going,” he answers quietly. “Apparently ‘I need to make sure the turtleducks are okay’ is not a reasonable excuse to cancel all of my meetings, so I’ve been worrying about them all day.”

 _“Are_ they okay?” Suki asks sincerely. “Do we need to bring them inside or something? _Can_ we bring them inside?”

“They are okay, yeah,” Zuko admits. “I just, umm…I want them to be comfortable. Happy.”

“Fuck, how are you even real?” Sokka slips out, and Zuko turns his gaze towards him.

“Sorry, what?”

Sokka pauses and blinks awkwardly, fishing for how to proceed. “Hey, can we talk somewhere, uh, maybe a little more private?”

Zuko looks back and forth between the turtleducks and his hovering friends, and his chest feels tight.

“What’s wrong, Sokka?” He sounds worried, and Sokka’s heart sinks.

“Oh, uh, nothing! Nothing! I just, umm…”

“I think it might be nice to have a chat, just us,” Suki saves.

Zuko looks down at the water again, at the crowd of the smallest of turtleducklings gathered around his hands. He sighs heavily, anxiously, and decides whatever this is about has to get out of the way now or it’ll be all he can think about.

“Umm, okay. Yeah, we can talk in my quarters, sure.” He pulls out his hands and flicks off the warm water dripping from them.

“I’ll be back,” he softly promises the turtleducks, and Suki somehow remains perfectly calm but Sokka is certain he’s about to explode.

They walk past the royal agni kai chamber on the way to Zuko’s room, and Sokka notes as he always does how ominous the energy radiating off of the locked up and blocked off arena is. He asked once why Zuko had it so thoroughly barred and barricaded, and he only said something vague about it being a cursed chamber of cruelty and pain, of broken dreams and bitter memories. He wouldn’t elaborate or explain. Sokka knew he was hiding something but it wasn’t because he didn’t want to confide in him, it was because he _couldn’t_ talk about it.

There is so much more to Zuko than meets the eye, and there always has been. Sometimes it seems impossible to believe the man tending so carefully to his beloved turtleducks is the same man who continuously made his life miserable trying to capture Aang, but then he remembers how obvious this being one person actually is. He has always had this heart, this compassion, this desire to give all of his love because it is all the love and compassion and heart he had been denied and had once longed so to earn. It all made perfect sense after getting to know him at all, and those months of torment immediately switched into harshly heartbreaking memories for Zuko’s sake, knowing how much Zuko was suffering during those times and why he acted the way he did.

They still don’t know the origin of Zuko’s scar, and no one has asked. He can’t talk about it and no one even thinks to pry. But they all know enough without having that revelation, they all understand enough that Zuko had been abused, has been hurt like no one ever should be, had been through more before the age of sixteen than anyone should have to endure in a lifetime.

“Okay, so…” Zuko starts as soon as his door closes. He gestures for Sokka and Suki to sit in one of the chairs scattered around the vanity and the windows and the desk, and Suki casually flops herself down upon a chaise lounge by a window, but Zuko stands and so does Sokka.

Zuko is moving his feet as though he’s pacing but his body stays in place, while Sokka moves to lean into a wall and is ever so slightly rocking the balls of his feet.

Zuko rubs his left wrist with his right hand and hopes the long full sleeves of his Fire Lord robes cover up the motion. “Seriously, what’s up?”

Sokka is bursting with desperate confessions about longing to heal the hurt in Zuko’s eyes, the beauty he sees in Zuko’s rare smile, the sadness which envelopes him whenever he sees Zuko cry and how tears do come from the left but are always stunted and delayed in comparison to the right, how flustered he gets when Zuko looks his way, how much it meant to him that Zuko risked it all to stay by his side at Boiling Rock, the terror he felt for Zuko first seeing the bandages after he’d saved Katara from Azula and knowing how close he’d come to death, how long Sokka has been dreaming of _this very moment…_

“Zuko, I’m in love with you.” Sokka hears the words exit his mouth before he is aware of speaking. He is so scared of how abruptly and bluntly he made his statement all at once, but it’s too late now so all he can do is own it.

“I’m in love you and I have been for years, and I know this has to sound super weird and fucked up with Suki here, and I do love Suki too, but that’s never stopped me loving you and I can’t fucking take it anymore. So…I guess that’s, you know, that. I can go. If you want. Please don’t hate me.”

“Sokka, I…” Zuko can only look at him in disbelief. He finds himself sitting at his desk, not fully aware of how he got there, pupils dilated and barely blinking.

Sokka covers his mouth with his hands, like he is too scared his lips will betray him and open to start babbling without his permission again if he doesn’t physically stop it, and he is sure speaking further will only make this worse.

Zuko, on the other hand, feels like he’s about to ask to join up with Aang all over again. That was fairly high up there in the most nerve racking experiences of his life; he hadn’t been nearly as worried about confronting Ozai about this plan ahead of time. 

He had accepted by then that Ozai would never love him and he didn’t need it anymore. But he still needed love. When it came to Aang and his friends, Zuko _did_ need _them_ and while he didn’t believe he would ever get that either, he then craved _their_ love instead.

But it wasn’t long before he started considering a different kind of love amongst Team Avatar, with Sokka. And then Suki came in and there was not only another person whose hate he wasn’t sure he could ever get away from, but who also loved Sokka and had the advantage of having gotten to him first.

He stayed closer and closer to Sokka over time, though, and growing closer and closer to Suki simply came with the package. He has still loved Sokka all this time but—while he would never have acted on his feelings or done anything to try to come between them anyway—he was happy Sokka is happy and he was happy he’s with Suki specifically. If it couldn’t be Zuko, he was genuinely glad it’s her. She deserves Sokka.

As their friendships grew, Zuko moved from jealousy to admiration for Sokka and Suki’s relationship. And then one day, he realized his admiration was more wrapped up in jealousy than ever but no longer because he wished he was with Sokka instead of Suki—no, it was because he wanted to be part of Sokka _and_ Suki.

He didn’t understand, thought he had to be losing his mind. Loneliness was getting the best of him, always having known on some level what he and Mai had wasn’t what they were trying to force it to be, or the stress of his Fire Lord duties making him view worlds of possibilities that weren’t real.

And with Sokka spending so much time in the Fire Nation as the official ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe and with Suki being in charge of Zuko’s guard, his friendships with both of them continued to blossom ever stronger.

And he loves them in ways that make his blood burn, and he wants them in ways he thought he could never dare to say aloud, but now…

“But, umm, what about…” Zuko looks to Suki, sure she must be about to cut this all off and hoping she doesn’t walk out on Sokka, too. No matter what, he never wants to see Sokka hurt. But where this looks to be heading can’t be a real possibility. That would be ridiculous, and far too good to be true.

But Suki smiles at him as she moves to stand, her eyes wide and her expression calm and cool.

“Zuko,” Suki says gently. “Sokka has two hands.”

Zuko stares up at her, scrambling for words to respond as his mind races.

“And so do I,” she continues. “And so do you.”

She walks over to him, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the cheek, and he inhales deeply.

“Oh fuck, is this really happening?” his voice is nearly a whisper as now he is the one whose mouth opens and speaks without being asked to.

Sokka hasn’t sat down yet, and he moves to Zuko and presses their foreheads together.

“Yes,” Sokka breathes out, and Zuko has to take the next step. He kisses Sokka like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, like this is what he was born to do, like it’s the only thing that matters and he can’t stop, he won’t stop, years of pent up affection and tension pouring out, insatiable.

Zuko is hot like fire, which Sokka supposes he should have expected, and Sokka could swear all the heat in Zuko’s body is transferring to his.

Suki comes up behind Zuko and trails tender kisses along the cheek and neck. Zuko reaches for her hand and holds it tight, letting all sensation take him over, allowing himself to fall into the blissful surreality of what is somehow actually happening to him right now.

He pulls back from Sokka momentarily to breathe, and Sokka lovingly pushes away a tuft of hair that had fallen down to cover Zuko’s eye.

His left eye.

Sokka realizes what he’s done a millisecond before Zuko reacts. His body stiffens and he gasps as though he can no longer take in air, and Sokka and Suki immediately back off and even though they were right to stop touching him lest they make the meltdown worse and they knew they were right because they’ve seen this too many times before, but this time he reels from the loss rather than finds relief in it. He feels cold all alone, despite him being the warm one.

Sokka doesn’t know why he did that. He’s not sure Zuko knows they know about his vision and hearing loss. He’s never talked about it and that’s made it another issue not to push. But Toph figured it out when they were travelling together before Sozin’s Comet and let everyone else in on the secret so they would know they needed to try to be considerate of it. But even though Zuko might not know Sokka knows, Sokka _does_ know, which means he knew a little hair falling onto that side of Zuko’s face wouldn’t make any damn difference to his sensory perception. And he also knows how upset he can get about people getting too close to his face at all, but touching him unexpectedly on the left is all but guaranteed to set him off every time.

Of course he realizes it was simply instinct, motor memory, that he’s brushed hair away from Suki’s eyes a million times in such an attentive daze when it falls down messily to cover her face and this is the first time he has ever been this _passionate_ with anyone else aside from Suki and so it was natural just to act but…

Suki looks at Sokka like she’s attempting to tell him telepathically that he needs to start the comforting as she is still behind Zuko and is wary of making any sudden movements.

He seems to get it, though, or at least come to the same conclusion.

“Fuck, Zuko, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Sokka sees Suki shake her head, trying to tell Sokka not to chastise himself for his honest mistake, as she is slowly and carefully and quietly sneaking away from her position.

“Zuko, look at me,” Sokka pleads. “Breathe with me, okay? And in…”

He’s been doing this for years. He’s always there for Zuko when this happens in his presence. Zuko never understands how Sokka hasn’t gotten fed up with him yet, but he has never failed to stay with him and do his best to guide him through a single episode he’s witnessed.

Of course, it’s typically Suki who has to deal with it when Sokka does this. But perhaps Zuko will find out soon enough how familiar Sokka is with both sides of this situation.

As Zuko’s breathing slows, he reaches for Sokka’s hands. He cannot usually handle touch at only this early of a stage into a panic attack or flashback, and it gives both Sokka and Suki hope he is so eagerly seeking it out now.

Zuko closes his eyes and leans into Sokka, resting his head inside his forearm. This is a remarkable act of trust, of love. This already feels more comforting, more intimate. It’s okay to let them in closer now. There’s no need to hold back. He didn’t realize how much he had been holding back.

“Hey. Zuko.” Suki kneels beside Sokka and faces Zuko. “May I touch you?”

He can’t speak but Suki sees him nod into Sokka. She gingerly brushes her fingers through Zuko’s hair, not even reaching his scalp, and he eases further into Sokka.

His whole body feels heavy and he is barely holding himself up, almost dead weight so weakly pressed into Sokka. But Sokka doesn’t move. He can’t. He won’t.

And it dawns on Sokka before anyone else considers it: Zuko is burying his _face_ into Sokka’s arm. It was unexpected contact with his face that triggered him initially, yes, but he is now seeking comfort without even thinking about it in effectively forcing Sokka to hold him by it.

Zuko is calming quickly. As he breathes in and out, continuing to match pace with Sokka, he has actually never before felt so _safe._

And it isn’t only because Sokka is a _genius_ when it comes to battle and strategy and engineering and easily picking up new techniques and talents in pretty much anything he tries on the fly, or because Suki is an elite warrior trained in stealth and precision tactics who moves like water around her opponents or can face them head on like a fiery force of nature. He is always safe with them in regards to violent dissenters, sure, but that’s not _it._

What it _is,_ is their presence covering him like protective robes and triple plated armor. There are very few people on this earth he fully believes would never hurt him, and the two people with him now are right at the top of that list, after only his uncle.

And now it’s come forward that their feelings for him match the feelings he has for them, and he has never felt more at home or at peace.

This is where he is supposed to be. This will be okay. He is cared for. He is _loved._

This feels different than it has before. He doesn’t even truly understand why when he has always been so well looked after by Sokka and Suki both (and they are, in fact, the only people who ever actually _see_ him like this; if they’re not present he simply pushes it all down until he’s alone and inevitably breaks down twice as hard).

But it does feel different. And he’s leaning into it, allowing himself to be immersed into it.

Zuko kisses Sokka’s wrist and slowly raises his head, looking intently between both of his guests.

This definitely is _not_ how either Sokka or Suki had planned their evening, but this is Zuko and they knew that going in and they love him and everything he comes with. This was not the ideal way to start a new relationship, but it is in no way a deterrence.

“Fuck, I am…I am _so_ sorry,” Zuko finally speaks. “If you want to leave now, I under—”

“Oh dear, sweet Zuko, we’re not going _anywhere,”_ Suki smiles.

“Not unless _you_ want us to,” Sokka adds. “If you need space or time, that’s okay. But if _you_ want us here, this is where we _want_ to be. And we’re not leaving you. You need us to go right now, alright, but we’ll be back.”

“Please. Don’t.” Zuko is now holding hands with both of them, taking Suki’s earlier point to heart. “Stay.”

Zuko looks at the nearest window and sees it’s now _pouring._ He is now more worried about their well-being than ever, but he knows he isn’t going out to check on the turtleducks again tonight.

“But Zuko…” Sokka still feels nervous, still needing complete clarity. _“Is this_ what you want? I know it’s not exactly ‘normal’ or whatever, but…”

“It is, Sokka. Suki. I do want this. More than anything, believe me.”

“I do,” Suki replies smugly. She’s always been the confident one, and Sokka continues to wait for the day that starts rubbing off on him.

Hopefully it’ll happen to Zuko eventually, too.

“I…” Zuko swallows hard, ready at last to verbally express his truth. “I love you. Both of you. And I have for a long time, I…”

“We love you, too,” Suki allows him to stop and breathe. “We really do, Zuko.”

“Yeah,” Sokka agrees. “So much. Spirits, so fucking much.”

“Why don’t we lie down a while?” Suki suggests. “It’s getting kind of cold in here, and I think we all need to relax, don’t you?”

Zuko knows she means _him,_ of course, but he can’t help but appreciate how she tries to frame it as though this need is mutual between all three of them in an effort to alleviate his guilt.

And neither of them say anything about it but Sokka and Suki seem to have made a silent agreement to center Zuko, and he is gently nudged into the middle. Zuko assumes it is because of that chill Suki mentioned, that they both want to stay close to him to siphon his incredible, well controlled body heat. He doesn’t consider it could be because they want to smother him in the most possible affection. He doesn’t even consider they are actually trying so hard to make him feel as loved and comforted as they can, and that temperature has nothing at all to do with it.

And it feels so, _so good,_ sandwiched between them, wrapped up in the two sets of arms keeping him close. He never wants to be without this feeling ever again.

He imagines they’ll want to rearrange themselves if they’re still doing this once it gets warmer again (they will be, but they won’t—and he’ll figure it out eventually). Fire Nation summers are damn near insufferable to even its citizens, after all (this does not matter in the slightest).

Zuko lies on his back, unsure who to face. Sokka wraps his arms around his chest, Suki wraps hers around his waist. It’s tight but it isn’t claustrophobic or constricting. It’s soft and snug, and he falls into it easily.

Suki kisses him on the shoulder, and he turns his head to kiss her lips. It’s as natural as it was with Sokka. Inviting, peaceful.

Zuko turns his head to kiss Sokka again, and then faces the ceiling and closes his eyes, wanting the only sensation he experiences to be the bodies entwined with his.

He cannot fully drown out the sound of the rain pounding on the windows reminding him of the turtleducks, but it helps if he turns his head onto the right side. So he takes advantage of it.

He doesn’t want to see or hear anything right now. He wants only to feel. He is yet amazed this is real.

And he falls asleep first, much to Sokka and Suki’s surprise. And even Sokka sleeps soundly this evening, a rarer event than he likes to let on.

They’ve reached the beginning of something beautiful and they are savoring it. The wave of new emotions washing over them all is medicinal, a lovely reprieve. No healing waters have ever soothed a wound or an ache like this. And they’re never letting go.

Sokka has two hands. And so does Suki. And so does Zuko.

They’re never letting go.


End file.
